Education News: April 11, 2008

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending April 11, 2008.

Lacking Credits, Some Students Learn a Shortcut
(Source:  The New York Times, 4/11/08):  Credit recovery programs are a way for students in New York City and elsewhere to make up the credits they need and graduate on-time.  In many cases, students are lacking credits because they simply failed to show up or expend effort in a given class.  Credit recovery programs allow students to write essays, attend crunch sessions during breaks, or take online courses to earn credits, but many teachers take issue with the programs for their lack of rigor and oversight.

700 Teachers Are Offered Buyout
(Source:  The Washington Post, 4/11/08):  Michelle Rhee, the chancellor of Washington D.C.’s school system, announced this week that as many as 700 teachers may receive buyouts from the district as a result of 23 schools being shuttered and 27 being reorganized.  The buyouts, dubbed “Teacher Transition Awards,” will range from $1,000 to $20,000 and will be offered to district teachers who are nearing retirement age as well as teachers of any age who teach at the schools that are to be closed or reorganized.  The program is expected to save the school system $13 million.

Catholic School Enrollment Dwindling
(Source:  USA Today, 4/11/08):  Across the U.S. more than 1,300 Catholic schools have closed since 1990, according to a new report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.  Part of the problem is that Catholics have been moving out of urban areas and into suburbs, and new suburban Catholic schools have not opened quickly enough to accommodate the demographic change.  Karen Ristau, who is the president of the National Catholic Education Association, said the key to keeping Catholic schools alive is to involve all parishioners—not just parents—in fundraising efforts.

‘Heavy Burden’ Seen for Kentucky Schools
(Source:  The Lexington Herald-Leader, 4/11/08):  Large budget cuts for education in Kentucky have left school officials wondering how they will pay required one-percent teacher raises and buy increasingly expensive gas for buses—let alone meet the proficiency goals set by the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990.  Currently, only 37 percent of the state’s schools are likely to meet the act’s 2014 deadline.

New York Legislators Balk at Tying Teacher Tenure to Student Tests
(Source:  The New York Times, 4/9/08):  Much to the disappointment of New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, the New York State Legislature has thwarted his attempts to allow student test scores to be used in making tenure decisions for teachers.  The decision represents a victory for teachers’ unions.

Metro Detroit Schools Coping With Surge of Homeless Children
(Source:  The Detroit News, 4/7/08):  At least 3500 homeless children attend school in Detroit, and the number is growing.  Families living in homeless shelters often have to move around a lot (due to limits on the length of their stays), and these moves can result in their children changing schools several times per school year.  The downturn in the economy and the rise in home foreclosures have caused the number of Detroit homeless children to increase by more than 70 percent over the last three years.